YOUR LIFE A-Z: PATIENCE

SOMETIMES THE DIRECTIONS ARE NOT CLEAR

PATIENCE

PATIENCE is described as the ability to accept suffering, hardships, delays or other intolerable situations without getting upset.  I think that definition is what the writer thinks PATIENCE should be, but not exactly what PATIENCE is.  PATIENCE is what you train yourself to practice while dealing with suffering, hardships, delays and intolerable situations or people.  Practicing PATIENCE is finding yourself really angry at a situation, such as a driver who cuts you off in traffic.  PATIENCE is that big exhaling breath that you take before you toss your middle finger up or push your foot on the gas.  PATIENCE says, “Now that was not nice of that jerk ahead of you, but don’t reduce yourself to be a jerk like him or her. PATIENCE is the practice of breathing in and out and counting to ten or to a hundred if need be.  PATIENCE is the art of stopping yourself from saying something mean when you have been hurt. PATIENCE is the ability to place yourself in someone else’s shoes and say, “Maybe they are having a really bad day.  Let’s cut them a break.”  PATIENCE is an action word not a passive position.  PATIENCE is not being mute nor allowing yourself to be walked on.  PATIENCE is diplomacy when negotiating.  PATIENCE is thinking critically from many vantage points before making a life-changing decision.  PATIENCE is acquired only by practice.  None of us are born PATIENT.   PATIENCE is important to you because one day you will need others 

YOUR LIFE A-Z:QUILT

USE YOUR RESOURCES TO CREATE THE COLOR IN YOUR LIFE

QUILT

Yes, QUILT.   Do you have a favorite QUILT in your closet?  What makes that QUILT your favorite?  Was it the person that made if for you?  Or, if you purchased the QUILT, is it the theme or the colors that attracted you. Some people are talented and enjoy the art of QUILT making and others of us admire his/her art but feel as if we just cannot make something that is so intricate and time consuming.  That may very well be the case but today I want to introduce an art form of QUILT making that each of us can do.  Get an 8 ½ by 11-inch piece of paper and one side; write a list of 19 things for which you are thankful.  Once, you have reached 19, quit.   Look at the words you have written and allow your feelings of gratitude remember a situation that is connected to each word on the list.  Next, you have a choice of two options.  If you have a bunch of magazines at your disposal, some glue and scissors then search the magazine for pictures of each of your words on your list.  Once you collect 19 pictures (not the written words-only pictures) then carefully glue them on to the front of the paper creating your own QUILT of gratitude.  If option #1, sounds tedious and too much trouble, no problem, then choose 19 different colors from a crayon box and color and create a shape and color it in until every inch of your paper is covered.  Viola, you have created a QUILT of gratitude and practiced mindfulness at the same time. 

YOUR LIFE A-Z KNOW

BE WHO YOU ARE

KNOW

“He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.”
― Lao Tzu
KNOW yourself.  The past few A-Z words have been a Direct invitation to KNOW yourself in precise, exact, and meaningful ways. KNOW what pleases you. KNOW your disappointments.  KNOW your Values.  KNOW your Interests.  Know what you are talking about.  If you have a passion then KNOW your passion.  KNOW what it is that draws you to it and be able to articulate your passion to yourself and to others.  KNOW yourself and you will be on the path to happiness and choices will become clear to you because you are clear with yourself.  If you KNOW you like chocolate over vanilla then you don’t stand in front of the ice-cream choices for fifteen minutes before you decide. But if you KNOW you like to try different kinds, then give yourself five minutes to choose a new and different ice cream each time.  Having a time limit helps you make up your mind in order that you don’t have to call yourself indecisive.  Go back to your Values.  Do you really Know what you Value?  What decisions or situations are you struggling with currently? What do you need to KNOW about yourself to make those decisions easier for yourself?  Spend time with yourself in order to really KNOW more about who you are and what you are about.  If you do this when a real crisis hits or you are in a real do-it-now situation, you will KNOW what the best course of action for yourself is because you KNOW yourself.